Pat Rice - Love & Laughter

Anne here and today I'm interviewing fellow wench, Patricia Rice.
Pat, you're launching a new "Regency Love and Laughter" collection of some of your earlier books and novellas. What a lovely idea. We need more love and laughter in these difficult times, and I personally love it when authors reissue their earlier stories, many of which I've missed.

Anne: The first "book" in the collection —Crossed in Love—is an anthology made up of three novellas and a short story. It contains 1) The Borrowed Groom, 2) Deceiving Appearances, 3) Fathers and Daughters and 4) Lady Invisible.
What, if anything links these stories?

Pat: In each story, the characters are searching for or have thought they found love, only to lose it and despair. I particularly love the heroine in “Borrowed Groom” who fears she’ll never find love or even have a life because she’s crippled, and her parents won’t allow her out of her sight. But when opportunity is dangled right before her eyes, she grabs it and runs and to heck with the consequences.

Anne: Sounds gorgeous! Following the anthology are three more full-length novels;  Mad Maria's Daughter, Artful Deceptions and All a Woman Wants. I must confess, I think Mad Maria's Daughter is a most intriguing title.

Pat: Don’t you love the titles and fantasies we used to get away with back when the genre was in its infancy? Originally, only the mother was mad, the heroine was blind, but my editor refused to accept a heroine with another “disability of the month,” so I had to make the daughter potentially mad. Really difficult to obtain the same impact as those scenes where the heroine could tell the difference between the twins because of her hyper-senses! 

Anne: Can you give us a short excerpt from one of the stories, please?

Pat: This is from Lady Invisible:

    “You’re a military man. What do you know of hounds and hunting?” the squire inquired, handing Lucas a glass.    
    “A great deal, as it happens, sir. I’ve spent the better part of these last years on horseback, chasing enemies wilier than foxes.”
    Outside, the dogs howled louder, and a screech resembling a brawl between penned pigs and enraged hawks ensued. The woman’s shouts escalated.
    Lucas had begun to wonder if he shouldn’t investigate, when Briggs threw open a sash of his double study window and shouted, “Harriet, get them demmed hounds back in the pen where they belong and shoot the peacocks!”
    Lucas blinked. Things had changed mightily if one shouted at young ladies these days and ordered them to perform a stable hand’s duty.
    In coming here, he’d had some vision of a benevolent, ladylike Harriet gliding into the room carrying a tea tray and somehow divining why he’d called. After all, Lorena had said he was an eligible catch, and the squire’s daughter was the most eligible female around. The purpose of his call should be obvious.
    Perhaps he should have listened a little more closely to Lorena.
    A childish shriek raised the hair on the back of his neck. Lucas dashed to the other window and threw open the second sash.
    “Dashitall, Harry, I told you to get them hounds back in the barn!” the squire was shouting in frustration while Lucas scanned the grounds for the origin of the childish scream. “We’ve got a guest! You need to get back in here.”
    A pair of peahens and a cock flapped around three baying beagles, who were racing around the base of an oak as if they’d treed a squirrel.
    Surrounded by the circling hounds and birds, a slender female in honey-colored riding habit, with the skirt scandalously rucked up to reveal her tall boots, and her jacket missing, smacked the snout of the nearest dog. Lucas couldn’t hear what she was saying, but the animals crouched down and wagged their tails in anticipation of some treat.
    The wildly colorful birds scattered to alight on various bits of shrubbery.
    The young lady turned her uncovered head upward to study the tree’s branches, and Lucas’s gut lurched. His gaze followed hers.
    The child he had thought he’d left securely at his sister’s house was instead perched on the lowest limb of the oak, swinging her toes and watching the dogs, probably with interest, if he knew his daughter. The earlier scream had been for effect. Verity was fearless.
    “Verity Augusta, climb down from there this instant!” Lucas roared, heedless of the squire’s startled reaction.
    “That your young one?” Briggs asked. “What the devil is she doing in my tree?”
    “As if I know what goes through her mind,” Lucas muttered, pulling his head back in the window. “I’d best pry her down and take her home.”
    “Harry can do it.” Briggs stuck his head back out the window again and roared, “Harriet, bring the girl inside to her papa.”
    The half-dressed lady sent her father what appeared to Lucas to be a look of exasperation, before crouching down to scratch the hounds and sending them scampering toward the kennel.
    Verity, on the other hand, climbed to her feet and appeared to be considering the next highest branch.
    Lucas didn’t think shouting at the females had put a dent in their behavior.

Anne: Oh, that's fabulous! I love the female mayhem!
What's the process for reissuing stories formerly published by a traditional publisher?

Pat: Since these were old books, they’d been out of print for quite a while and the small category Regencies were no longer being published. But the novellas were in anthologies with other authors. It took a bit of arguing to convince the publisher to break up anthologies so I could have the rights to mine. But I did it back in the day before e-books became popular and publishers never bothered reissuing much of anything. They relented.
That far back, publishing an e-book was a long, complicated process. I had the actual physical books torn apart and scanned. 

Then I edited the documents the scanning produced and gave them to a knowledgeable friend to package and reissue. 

Those first few e-books paid well enough for me to have some of my older full-length novels formatted and covered. Eventually, that old formatting and those old covers looked sad next to all the wonderful e-books publishers are producing today. So I cleaned up the manuscripts a little bit and with all today’s lovely new software, had my husband format them this time! You’ll have to let me know if he did a good job. 

Anne: I'm sure they'll be lovely. The new covers are beautiful. How did you go about finding fresh covers for these books?

Pat: Thank you for asking! I work with a brilliant cover designer, Kim Killion. She had already designed the cover for All A Woman Wants, and I simply told her to give me three more as beautiful as that and slap a series symbol on all of them. I’m afraid I’m not very helpful when it comes to graphics, but fortunately, I have talented friends who understand me. Aren’t they incredible heroines? I think I need to write more stories for them.

Anne:  I agree. What's next for Patricia Rice?

Pat: This year, the final book in my Family Genius mystery series—Twisted Genius comes out, releasing October 3. Next year. . . depends on whether I can make this new project come together to my satisfaction!

Anne: I've been enjoying this series so much, but then I've been a Patricia Rice fan from way back. I can't wait to dig into this Love and Laughter series, because I know I haven't read all the stories.

#Giveaway: Here's a little puzzle for readers: Here are the one line blurbs for each story in the anthology. Can you match them?  eg 1a, 2d etc Pop your answers in the comment stream or leave a comment of your own to be in the draw for a prize.

a) A work of art leads a lonely gentleman to his worst nightmare and a chance at love
b) Spurned once by the handsome rakehell she thought she loved, a lady refuses to be hurt again, until a bit of Valentine magic works its spell
c) A hoydenish baron’s daughter and a military gentleman find romance in the most unlikely way
d) A bride-to-be’s sister borrows the groom left standing at the altar

Pat: I’ll give away five copies of my “Stray Magic” exclusive short story to five people who get the answers right. This story has never been published—it’s Jacques’ story from my Unexpected Magic series—and only my newsletter readers have seen it. (And if you want to become one of my newsletter readers, just sign up on my website  or if you just want to know when I have new releases, follow me on bookbub.

 

Comments

[Amy J]

That excerpt sounds like a delightfully fun start to the tale.

1d, 2b, 3a, 4c are my best guesses.

[Mary T]

Well, these truly are guesses: 1-b, 2-d, 3-c, and 4-a.

I agree that the covers are beautiful and I like the titles also. Not a "hot" or "wicked" duke in any of them (smile).

[Sue McCormick]

I love the covers. I already have Stray Magic (which is lots of fun) so I won't enter the contest.

And I am eager to buy the books.

[Patricia Rice]

I'm simply unable to come up with "short" excerpts!

[Patricia Rice]

LOL, these were written in the day when Regencies didn't mean "hot." Oh for those gentler days...!

[Patricia Rice]

Thank you, ma'am, for being one of my loyal readers. Check the excerpts to be certain they're not something you don't already have. The titles are unchanged from the original, but I know sometimes my memory fails me.

[jeanette dilts]

What fun! 1d, 2a, 3b, 4c. And I just had to pre-order those I haven't read. Looking forward to some laughter mixed with love. Jeanette

[Patricia Rice]

I do hope you enjoy, thank you!

[Janga]

1d, 2a, 3b, 4c

I emphatically agree about the need for love and laughter, Anne.

One of the things I like best about being an ebook reader is all the older romances that are newly available.I look forward to adding these to my Kindle, Pat.

[Karen Markuson]

I enjoyed the excerpt. The answers to the puzzle are:

1 d The Borrowed Groom
2 a Deceiving Appearances
3 b Fathers and Daughters
4 c Lady Invisible

[Laura Boon]

All A Woman Wants is a favourite of mine. It was one of the first romances I read with a full cast of siblings, children and mayhem and i loved the chaos. I can't wait to read the others.

[Patricia Rice]

thank you! And laughter may be in our perception of life. I have just discovered the D is missing on the cover of Mad Maria's Daughter. I don't know if the book gods ate it as a sacrificial goat or my eyes are that bad that I didn't notice earlier. But I choose to laugh and wonder if it should now read Mad Maria's Laughter

[Patricia Rice]

See me smiling hugely! I love that book.

[Karlene Barger]

1d, 2a, 3b, 4c

Your Regency Love and Laughter collection sounds delightful!
("...what I was after was life and love and joy and laughter..")

[Mary M.]

Laughter really rounds out a Regency for me! Loved the excerpt, looking forward to the full set.

1d, 2a, 3b, 4c

[Karin]

That excerpt sounds really fun and tantalizing!

[Lillian Marek]

These sound absolutely delightful. Love and laughter is an irresistible combination, and you do it so well.

[Quantum]

1d, 2a, 3b, 4c
I confess that I peaked over Janga's shoulder for these.

Love of science, (certain) people and books makes it all worthwhile.
Laughter keeps me sane (I think)

A fabulous combination for a Regency novel!

Loved the interview 😊

[Anne]

1d, 2a, 3b, 4c.
This is lovely and interests me greatly. Love and laughter are important and meaningful.

[Annette]

My wildest guesses:
1 - d
2 - a
3 - c
4 - b

The covers are truly lovely. One of the reasons I am so fond of your stories - you make me laugh.

[Patricia Rice]

Thank you! And the whole quote just wouldn't fit, dang it!

[Patricia Rice]

hope you enjoy!

[Patricia Rice]

thank everyone so much for the kind words. Anne and I will take a look at all your answers when we're both on the same waking schedule.

And did anyone take a good look at Mad Maria's cover and see the glaring error?

[Mary T]

Not until you pointed it out (smile). It's still a beautiful cover.

[StephanieL]

I'm going with 1d 2a 3b and 4c. These sound like a lot of great reading! I'll have to look into them. I like your artist, the covers really draw your eye.

[Lillian Marek]

The larger the type, the harder to notice the mistake. That's why ludicrous mistakes end up in newspaper headlines.

[Kristi]

I see I'm late to the game, :-/ I'll answer anyway... 1d, 2a, 3b, 4c. Thanks!